Day goes top-five at Pebble

Jason Day has logged his third top-five finish of the US PGA Tour season at the Pebble Beach Pro Am in California.

Day closed with a four-under par 68 which was not enough to reel in runaway leader Phil Mickelson, but had him sitting fourth when the weather forced a suspension.

A handful of the players will be back tomorrow to settle the issue, with veteran Mickelson leading by three shots from American Scott Stallings and England’s Paul Casey.

Day, the world No. 12, finished fifth in the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges and the Farmers Insurance Open already on tour this season, and is showing a strong return to form after a quiet finish to 2018.

“To be honest, I thought if I could get in with a 68 or 67 today that might do it, but unfortunately, the guys in front are playing some pretty good golf here, especially Phil,’’ said Day. “So the guys, it seems like he's been at it for a long time, and he's done it for awhile, and he's still winning, which is obviously they got holes left, but if he plays the way he's playing right now he should be able to get it done pretty easy.”

Day’s finish pushes him up the International rankings for the Presidents Cup, where he will likely lead the charge against the Americans at Royal Melbourne this year.

“I mean, that's one thing that you want to be able to do is represent Team International and especially represent your country down at home,’’ he said. “And Royal Melbourne is going to be a phenomenal joint again and we'll have a lot of fun. We'll have a tough American team to play against, but obviously I think if I can just keep committing and keep working hard, making that team shouldn't be a problem. I've just got to focus on playing good right now and hopefully that takes care of the rest.”

It was a decent week for the Australians at the iconic Pebble Beach, with Perth’s Curtis Luck sitting inside the top 30 as well.